SL Green Buys Kenneth Cole’s Manhattan HQ

603 W. 50th St.

Commercial property giant SL Green Realty Corp. has agreed to purchase a vintage office building that houses the headquarters of Kenneth Cole Productions at 603 W. 50th St. in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan. The fashion and shoe retailer, which bought the property in 2006, will maintain its corporate home base in the six-story building by leasing back roughly 40,000 square feet.

READ ALSO: SL Green Sells Manhattan Tower for $815M

SL Green plans a comprehensive renovation to raise the profile of the 160,000-square-foot asset, including upgrading the property’s infrastructure while enhancing the industrial aesthetic of the World War II-era building, according to a statement by the firm. The REIT aims to transform the property into a competitive Class A building geared especially towards tenants in the creative industries.

Built in 1940, the building spans between 50^th and 51^st Streets along 11^th Avenue on the west side of Manhattan, a few blocks from the 50^th Street subway station. The timber construction building incorporates wood floors and beams, brick perimeter walls and large windows, as well as floor plates ranging from 22,000 to 28,000 square feet.

The sale is expected to close within the next 90 days. Woody Heller and David Heller of Savills advised the seller.

Stamford office building sold

SL Green also revealed that the acquisition of the Manhattan asset will be partially funded by proceeds from the sale of 1010 Washington Blvd., an office property in Stamford, Conn., that the REIT has agreed to sell for $23 million. In a Wednesday filing, the company said it had entered into contract for the sale in September. The deal, anticipated to close during this quarter, is expected to generate cash proceeds of $21.6 million.

SL Green declined to reveal the buyer to Commercial Property Executive. The company picked up the two-building complex from Equus Capital Partners for $38 million in 2007, according to Yardi Matrix. The property is located at the intersection of Main Street and Washington Boulevard, blocks away from the Stamford train station and Interstate 95 in the New York City suburb.

In its statement, SL Green indicated that the sale of the Stamford building represented an exit from a non-core asset, allowing the firm to recycle capital into higher-quality office assets with greater upside potential. SL Green owns at least eight other properties in Stamford, including 1055 Washington Blvd. across the street.

New York City’s largest office landlord, SL Green recently sold the Manhattan tower 220 E. 42^nd St. for $815 million. Jacob Chetrit of the Chetrit Organization is reportedly the buyer of the 37-story Midtown asset.